I'm looking to spend between 150-250 dollars on a good pair of headphones, what would be best? I'd prefer ones where I didn't need a headphone amp, since the amp seems to be about 200 dollars on its own..but give me suggestions, with links and such. Thanks.

Using the search function will let you find a lot here.

Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro's
I love mine.

If you have very small ear canals then maybe the Shure ec3's or ec4's
they are both soon to be discontinued so you should be able to find a deal.

I use Sennheiser HD555. I paid AUD$185, which is about US$145 or 111 Euros. I think they are wonderful, they sound great, and are very comfortable which is good because the sound quality makes me enjoy using them for long periods.

Audio Technica ATH-A900 - covers the whole ear - NEW $195-$175 USED $160-$130 nice very tamed bass, are not picky about the amp because they are higher impedance thus little to no hiss.

Sennheiser HD 25-1 (now just the HD 25 ??) sits on top of ear - recommend trying to see if you like - this is about $160-$130 used not sure on new price however.

In this price range I am not knowledgeable enough to advise on other headphones. I have heard both of these and say that I like them both but I like the A900's better, however I like how the HD 25's are much smaller and compact.

PS in my picture are the ATH-A900LTD just know that they are outside your price range, don't offer much more in the way of sound quality compared to the A900, and are EXTREMELY hard to get a hold of.

Sennheiser HD580 for only $130. Great price for a great set of headphones. I'm not sure how well it does without an amplifier though, someone with more knowledge can probably shed some light. I'm sure that it would benefit, but I think that it will also do fine without.

Headphone.com's page on the 580.

Since this is actually cheaper than you listed you could easily upgrade with an amp. Headphone.com is a good place for that as well.

edit: 100th post! took me long enough to get there...

You will find a lot of headphone "enthusiast" discussions at the head-fi.org forum:

http://www.head-fi.org

For future reference, you should also post what type of listening environment or what type of audio source player you plan to use with your new headphones. For example, do you plan to use your headphones in a mobile outdoor environment with a portable mp3 digital audio player (like iPods) or in a quiet indoor environment with a high-end home theater reference system? Are you looking for a true "balanced" neutral sound with an excellent flat frequency response or do you like lots of artificial emphasis on the bass (low) and treble (high) frequencies like how most young people listening to rap, electronic, and rock music these days? These details can make a very big difference on the type of headphones that are a good match for your needs.

First decide on the details of HOW you will use your headphones and what you expect your headphones to sound like within this environment. After you have decided this, then come up with a reasonable price range within your budget to meet your needs.

In my opinion and experience with many different headphones (cans), higher price for headphones does not necessarily mean better quality sound. This is especially true for the Bose brand. Bose headphones are usually expensive and high price but unfortunately come with very poor sound quality for the high price you pay (in my opinion only).

Good luck with your search.

I like my Alessandros MS-2 very much but I also think it's not necessary to spend that much money.
If I compare these 230€ phones to my 20€ Koss KSC-75 IMO it's not worth spending so much money - and the KSC-75 drivers are below their potential as due to the ear 'clip' form of the KSC-75 they don't have a very good ear contact.

Very good phones to consider IMO are (ordered from rather expensiv to cheap)
- Alessandro MS-1 (based on Grado SR-80)
- Grado iGrado
- Koss portaPro

They all have more or less the Grado/Koss sound which IMO is great especially for any kind of pop/rock/singer/songwriter music. A matter of taste of course.

i have grado sr-60,

pros:
- almost decent sound
- price
cons:
- uncomfortable
- really crappy plastic looking build

Alessandro MS-1 or Sennheiser HD595 depending on what kind of sound you like. Grados/Alessandros are aggressive and exciting while Sennheisers are mellower and more laid back.

The problem with Alessandro MS-1's is a rather narrow and imprecise soundstage, which is IMO fixed in MS-2's. And the other problem is that you'll be craving for the MS-2's soon

Edit: just wanted to add that the Alessandro MS-2's are really good.

Uhh, I hope you don't mind me asking where you found them at that price. Everywhere I look they are at least AUD$220.

I've found Grado's sound to be most pleasant to my ears in that price range. I have a pair of SR-80's at home, despite the "crappy plastic looking build" they seem to be quite durable, mine have now been used about ten years and they are still going strong. The earpads have been replaced several times though. Last spring I went shopping for headphones for my work. I tested several models from Grado, AKG, BD and Sennheiser, ended with SR-80's again. Maybe it's just my ears that have gotten used to that particular sound, but the closest thing pricewise that could beat the Grado sound was the HD-600 from Sennheiser, IMO. Another plus is the sensitivity, headphone amp is rarely needed.

As mentioned before, they are not the most comfortable headphones though, and due to the open design they don't block external noise (traffic, computer fans etc.) very well.

I recently bought Senn HD555. They are rapidly becoming unavailable in Canada due to a fire and way too long shipping problems. The salesman did say it was only a delivery thing....not a quality issue.

I ended up ordering online from JR.com. They were very good to deal with and it cost $160ish Cdn out of pocket; ie: after GST taxes, shipping, brokerage fees, friendship dues and whatever all else gets tacked on. I think the retail at JR was $109 US. This was a month ago.

They are my first pair of good headphones so I don't have much of a comparison to offer; I do not have any complaints and they seem good to me, especially at that price as the comparable Grado's available locally were $200.

If you're looking for portables, Westone UM1 are recommended by many. USD$109.

If your looking for full size 'phones, I use the sennheiser hd-280-pro's, they sound good and are pretty reasonable.

amazon

I dont mean to totally berate you but, I had heard good things about the seen 280, howeverwhen I listend to them I remember not liking the sound, I cant remember what exactly it was that I didnt like but I remember that I liked the AKG K81 more (which are cheaper than the ), plus they are quite heavy and very big.

Another vote for Grados. For about $100 US, the SR-80s are great phones - very detailed and open-sounding, not overly heavy on the bass, and especially clear and detailed in the middle frequencies. At 32 ohms impedance, they can be adequately driven with just about any portable player.

I've found that the next models up from the 80s offer little in terms of noticeable improvement until you get to the SR-325i model, which is $299. The SR-60s are fine as well, thought I've found that the "comfy" foam earpads tend to filter out some HF content. Thus, the SR-80s seem to be the "sweet spot" in terms of price and performance, IMO.

No offense taken.

I by no means have golden ears, however they sound great to me. And while they *are* rather bulky (altho no moreso than other 'phones of that style), they do a great job of reducing outside noise. Some folks may not like the quite snug pressure on their heads either, but it's not that bad and doesn't take long to get used to (or didn't for me anyway).

I've listened to a variety of head phones over my years, and for the price, these are a great deal.

Read the few hundred comments on amazon for other folks experience with them.

Btw, I wear these 'phones at work, so figure 8ish hours a day for the work week. Works great for me, your mileage may vary.

The headphones I recommended were all closed, but I have only heard good things about the grado's however they are all open and not good for noisy commutes on the train or bus. they may also disturb co workers.

if you dont like big headphones IEMs (In ear moniters) can be nice, but can be very expensive, also consider that they are hard to sell used

I am not much of a Sennheiser fan - something always strikes me as distant about the sound, and I prefer more immediacy. My opinion with my ears only. many friends love them.

I love the Grados for a big, open sound. The SR-60s look quite retro, but at $70USD they are darn hard to beat. The more expensive ones are better, but the differences are surprisingly subtle. The sound/money ratio with the SR-60 is very high indeed. However, they provide absolutely no isolation.

I will chime in with some Bose support, too. I use the QuiteComfort2 noise canceling phones quite a lot and find them surprisingly comfortable and fun to listen to - yes, I prefer them to Sennheisers. They are very musical 'phones that have low fatigue over hours of use. They are more expensive than many at $300USD, but I have not found their equivalent at any price for what they do so well.

Many would suggest in-ear 'phones for noise reduction, but I have not found any that were not tremendously uncomfortable in my ears (I have rather narrow canals). I am sure the better ones sound great, but I can't tell over all my complaining about the pain :-( Ouch!

wow 250 dollars! does it really exists an audible and measurable quality diference between a 30 dollars and 250 dollars headphones? I use 10 dollars ones, and they sound perfect to me.


has anyone abx them?

another vote for sennheiser's HD595

Another post by Kwanbis asking for an ABX....

Check his past posts and you'll see about 1 in 3 say that.
JXL

and that means?

I'm asking cause i always want to spend the least money needed. So, if there is no difference between a 30 and a 200 dollars something, why should i pay more?

By the way, i'm sure there is no 1 in 3 requests for ABX.

I will say the difference is at a few price points generally.

Let me Qualify the above and say I am speak for the most part about "ear phones" not Head Phones, as I have no reason to own any. I use earphones to listen to music in public settings or on the go like the train, plane, or at work. At work I cant have big head phones on, I work in a corprate environment and it would be considered unprofessional. At home I have nice audio gear and I can turn up the volum as loud as I want for those times when I'm doing critical listening I can use the same earphones as they are of High Quality.

Below $10 USD 90% crap.

$10 - $30 USD most people will find these acceptable and deal with any shortcomings rather than spend more. A good fit that stays put is hard to find for me at least. Build quality is suspect, I hate getting a wire short at the jack end then one ear has sporratic drop outs.

$30 - $80 Mostly the same as the above just over priced, maybe they will come with a few ear tips or a carrying case. Bose comes to mind at the upper end of this range.

$80 - $150 Dramatic difference in build Quality. Warrante on purchase that you can actualy use if necessary.
Fit and comfort is dramaticaly better. Sound Quality is exponentialy better do to greater degree of engineering, component quality, and fit (noise reduction).

$150 and above the differences with the range just below are minimal as far as sound goes for most users. The most noticeable difference will be fit and comfort and that probably doesn't start to come into play until you hit the $500 mark and get custom fit earphones.

My Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pros have dual drivers that produce a nice balanced sound. The bass is just right in music that is recored and mastered with heavy bass, you can hear the bass but it is tight bass like the producer / engineer meant it to be. Not all muddy to the point it overpowers the mids and highs.
For Jazz and Classical the music is light and fluid. The instruments are distinct and there is a depth that you just can't get with cheap earphones.

I'd say if you are unwilling to spend $100 to get some earphones like the VModa Vibes , then get a $30 pair like the JVC HA-FX55


JVC HA-FX55 http://www.audiotstation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31902

VModa Vibes http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.p...ighlight=v-moda

Shure E3c http://stereophile.com/headphones/504shure/

Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 pro http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/ultima...5_pro_earphones

These are reviews that are complete and concise.

Google for more user opinions.

It's new for $169 on audiocubes.com, straight from Japan.

EDIT: And the Ax00 line are famous for not needing an amplifier, or seeing little to no improvement with one, because they have low impedance and high sensitivity.
2nd EDIT: Oh, audiocubes jacked up the price

I dont think it is really possible to ABX headphones. Mostly because somebody can tell which headphones are on their head. As for improvement unless you have hearing problems you should be able to tell a difference between a $30 HP and a $250 one, and even my friend who is somewhat deaf in one ear can certainly tell the difference.

As for your I would say that the biggest jump in quality is in the $130-$300 anything below that *may* just be jacked up in price. After that price range I dont know much about so I can only speculate from what I have read, and it appers that basically its the higher end IEMs $280-$500 that jump in sound quality in this range.



I meant higher as compared to IEMs, not to dynamic headphones ! I shoud have stated that. That is beacuse IEMs are prone to hissing.

Yes, there is certainly a measurable difference between headphones. The frequency response curve varies a lot (e.g.) between models. It would be trivial to set up an ABX test to simulate this, in case you're still skeptical.

I'm stuck on deciding between the following headphones:

Sennheiser CX300-B - $80
Ultimate Ears super.fi 5Pro - $150
Shure e4c - $200

The Ultimate and Shure headphones are pretty similar in most regards except for price. Has anyone used both of these headphones and can offer their opinion? Comfort, ease of use, basic sound quality...

I like the Sennheiser's simply because they are a great set of headphones for everyday use. They are also half the price.

Sorry for hi-jacking.
JXL

Is there a difference between $100 and $5000 speakers?

Or is there a difference between a $5000 and $500,000 car for that matter?

In case you haven't guessed yet, the answer is yes.